Cracked Vessels
by o0-Key-0o
Summary: Team Kakashi is sent on a C-rank mission, along with Kiba and Akamaru. The investigation leads them to an active lab of Orochimaru's, where they're attacked by the test subjects-ninken from a clan Kiba once thought long-extinct. Capturing one and taking it back to Konoha is only the beginning...will taking Orochimaru's prized research prove to be a mistake? Snippets, not full fic.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Most of the information in this piece is from the Narutopedia, with the exception of the Inuhara jutsus, which I developed myself with the help of Google Translate.

**Additional Author's Note: **This is my first attempt at a posted anime fanfiction. I'm a firm believer in watching with English subtitles, so if my spelling is abnormal, rest assured it's because of how it was when I read it on screen (i.e. chunin vs. chuunin).

Also, this piece is just an experiment; it's a collection of scenes that could be put together into a full-length fanfic. However, I do want to know that what I'm doing isn't crazy-out-there-in-left-field-with-the-llamas. So if you like this, drop a note by clicking the Review button.

Thanks!

* * *

**Part One**

_The Mission Room_

"You have to understand my position," Tsunade said. "We're already agreeing to treat your son at our hospital, but without an accurate description of the animal that attacked him, I can't assign a team to the mission."

"But—" the farmer said, twisting his hands together as he tried to think faster than Konoha's Fifth Hokage, "—but we can't go out in the fields and work if there might be a wild animal around! We're one of the best grain suppliers to the Country of Rice. They just don't have shinobi like Konoha, so we were instructed to come here for help."

"I know, and it was a wise choice. I will tell you what I can do," Tsunade went on in a gentler tone. "I have one of my best medical ninjas examining your son, who will make a full recovery. She'll do her best to narrow the search based on the kind of injuries he has. Iruka," and here she turned to the chuunin seated beside her, "please make up a mission pending request until we receive Sakura's medical report."

"_Hai,_" he agreed, pulling a blank mission form close to make some notations. "C-rank mission, Tsunade-sama." Iruka made a final mark and passed the paper to Tsunade for inspection. She nodded and turned it around for the farmer to glance over. He nodded his approval, and his brawny shoulders relaxed slightly.

"_Arigato,_ Hokage-sama," he said with a deep sigh. "I will be with my son, if you need me." He let himself out of the room, and Iruka turned to Tsunade.

"You know, we don't _really_ need a description...not with some of the natural talents of the chuunin around here."

She sighed briefly, and Iruka could tell it was out of annoyance. "It's the same story, Iruka. We're always going to be spread just thin enough that we'll get missions done by the skin of our teeth. I would put Konohamaru's team on this, but the injuries to that child were…" and Tsunade shook her head as she searched for the proper words. "They were unusual."

"You sound like you already suspect something," Iruka said quietly, so that nobody would overhear.

"And I desperately hope that I'm very, very wrong," Tsunade admitted, piercing Iruka with a look so sharp it made him sit back. Iruka's eyebrows went up, but he didn't have time to press the issue when the door opened and Kiba, Hinata, and Shino came in. After a moment, Akamaru stuck his white face through the door, though he seemed content to wait in the hall. Iruka was grateful for the ninken's thoughtfulness; he hadn't had any _arerugi _tea today, as he hadn't counted on seeing Kiba until tomorrow.

It hadn't been so bad when Kiba and Akamaru had been at the academy; for one thing, the room had been larger. And for another, Akamaru had been remarkably _smaller_. Now the ninken was five or six times the size he had been as a pup, and that meant five or six times the dander. Iruka's nose started to itch just thinking about it.

"We're back, Iruka-sensei, Tsunade-sama!" Kiba announced. He handed Iruka a neatly-tied scroll, which Iruka unrolled the first few inches of as a matter of inspection. The scroll had clearly been filled out in Shino's neat, articulate writing, and Iruka rolled it up for review later. Shino was a master of mission reports, and Iruka knew that Shino would be nonplussed to find out that he used his mission reports as examples to others. Especially Gai.

"And, how was it?" Tsunade asked. She'd been careful to keep Team Kurenai to mostly B-rank missions, since Kurenai was not on active duty.

"Those bandits didn't stand a chance!" Kiba said, with a distant _yip_ from Akamaru to confirm it. "Between Hinata's quick discovery of their hideout cave, and Shino's chakra-draining insects, we had those guys captured and turned into Kazaguruma Village ahead of schedule."

"As usual, Kiba understates," Shino said calmly. "But it was not troublesome."

"Good," Tsunade said with a genuine smile. "Shino, I've been asked to tell you that your father needs your assistance with an espionage mission. Hinata and Kiba, you'll be on standby if I have an appropriate mission come up until Shino comes back."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Hinata said politely. Kiba gave a friendly wave of departure before the trio retreated.

Tsunade glanced at the clock; it was back to the office for her. Shizune would be waiting with a stack of papers, no doubt. She stood and stretched. Iruka also got to his feet, but his expression was thoughtful.

"When is Kakashi getting back?" he asked Tsunade.

"Oh, I didn't tell you. Pakkun came yesterday with a message from Kakashi-he thinks he has a lead on one of the Akatsuki, so he sent a partial mission report and then took off in another direction," Tsunade said with a shake of her head. "Apparently the intel we had was accurate, but older than expected. Kakashi assures me that this new information is better."

"Ah. Well, this wild animal mission might be just the thing to keep a certain future Hokage out of trouble," Iruka said. He headed for the door and held it open for Tsunade. "Just a thought."

Tsunade eyed him before hugging a sheaf of papers to her chest and striding away down the hall. "We'll see," she called over her shoulder.

* * *

**Part Two**

_Konoha's East Market_

Kiba and Hinata parted ways with Shino immediately following their report to the Hokage. Shino, as taciturn as ever, said he would find them when he returned. Kiba and Akamaru, as per usual, walked Hinata home just like after every mission. If Shino had had time, they all would have stopped to relax just a little by getting tea and dumplings. As it was, it just didn't feel right without him, so Kiba and Hinata passed the Happy Dumpling with little thought.

"Hey, Kiba!" came a sudden call from inside the shop. A second later, Sakura emerged, still smoothing down her bangs as if she'd mussed her hair earlier.

"Sakura," Kiba said with no small amount of curiosity. "You seem pretty excited."

Sakura sobered. "I didn't know you were back already...I was just thinking how I wished I could talk to you and Akamaru about something." Her gaze drifted left and landed on Hinata, who smiled.

"See you later, Kiba-kun! Good night, Sakura-chan." She left without a backwards glance, and Kiba's curiosity deepened.

"So, what is it?" he asked. Sakura started walking down the street, her pink hair glowing orange as several shops began to turn on their lanterns. Kiba and Akamaru fell into step beside her, and it wasn't long before Sakura spoke.

"I examined a boy today—his father brought him in from one of the farms on the edge of the Country of Rice. He'll be fine, but...I wanted to know if you've ever heard of a ninken and its shinobi both biting a person."

Kiba blinked. Then he glanced down at Akamaru, who whined a little and shook his head so that his ears flapped. "I guess a young ninken could attack a child, but no shinobi from the Inuzuka clan has ever _also_ bitten a person. Not a civilian, anyway."

Sakura's eyebrows drew together. "That's what I thought. But I can't account for the bite patterns any other way."

"I don't suppose you could show me," Kiba said. Sakura nodded and pulled a folder from inside her backpack. She shook out a couple of photographs, which Kiba took over to a lamp and peered at. Sakura was right—the bites were a combination of pointed incisors as well as the duller, crescent-shaped marks of human teeth.

Kiba drew back and his eyes narrowed. "It's—Sakura, those bites are all from the same creature. It wasn't a ninken _and _a shinobi, just the shinobi." He ran his tongue along his own pronounced incisors, thinking of the time he'd been rough-housing with Chouji back in his young academy days and he _had_ accidentally bitten the other boy. Iruka-sensei had knocked both of them silly for messing around.

Sakura studied the picture, then glanced at Kiba's teeth. "But these marks here and here—you don't have _that _many pointed teeth."

Kiba contradicted her. "Yeah, when I'm using my chakra for the Four Legs technique. The thing that I'm not sure about are the bruises...I think it's the _mochikabu kiba-jutsu_. It's supposed to be a beast art—it means the ninken will grab on and not let go until the shinobi's command."

Sakura was staring at him, eyes wide. "This jutsu...does your clan—?"

"No," Kiba said with a shake of his head. "Kakashi-sensei's summoned ninken use it, but that's it. I guess you'd have to ask my mom. Other clans used it, but they weren't from Konoha." All of a sudden he felt disquieted. A rogue ninken-user? He'd never heard of such a thing. He quickened his pace abruptly. "Come on, we can ask her together." Akamaru barked and sprang forward, but his tail wasn't up and he even looked thoughtful. He didn't like it when Kiba was troubled.

Sakura trotted to catch up. "Where are the other clans located?"

"Mom's told me about six or so, but there's probably more that were once separate and have now merged. My sister Hana wrote papers about genetic chakra predispositions...medical ninja stuff."

His companion rolled her eyes. "I _am_ a medical ninja."

"Yeah, yeah. Right," Kiba said, feeling his face heat up slightly. "Well, then you can talk to her. If I ask, then she gets started and won't stop." He turned up a side street, and Akamaru let out a happy bark and bounded ahead. There were answering barks from within the Inuzuka house, and golden light washed out into the street as Hana opened the front door and peered outside.

"Ah, you're early!" she called to Kiba. "Mom'll be surprised."

Sakura saw Kiba wince a little bit. "Yeah," he said to his older sister, coming up to the gate and letting Akamaru into the yard. The other ninken present greeted him with several barks, but they were too interested in Sakura to be worried about him. "Hana, you know Sakura, right?"

"I've seen her around at the hospital," Hana acknowledged. She nodded at Sakura. "All the medical ninja know about Hokage-sama's apprentice."

Sakura blushed as she followed Kiba up to the front steps as half a dozen ninken followed her. She patted the tallest on the head as Kiba shed his sandals and went inside.

"That's Koshaku," Hana said to Sakura. "Don't let him run off with your kunai." Sakura immediately checked her pouch before giving the ninken a suspicious look. Koshaku sat and stared up at her innocently, tail thumping on the ground.

Sakura removed her own shoes and followed Kiba inside. Akamaru looked between Kiba and the other ninken before apparently deciding he wanted to romp around in the yard a little bit before going in himself. Kiba smiled and shook his head before closing the front door.

"Hana, Sakura's got questions about other ninken clans. I don't know much, but Mom for sure has books, right?"

"Yes," Hana said, her forehead wrinkling as she thought. She blew at the strands of hair near her eyes for a moment. "Is this about that boy—Eito?"

"The farmer's son, yes." Sakura studied Hana for a moment. "Tsunade-sama asked for your help after she saw my report."

Hana nodded. "You were right about the bites, but if you've talked to Kiba then he must have mentioned the bruises. That's why I'm glad you came by—between the two of us, talking to Tsume-sama will be much easier."

Kiba hastened to explain, "Mom's a little...impatient. But she's proud of the Inuzuka lineage and history. Stick to the point and you'll be okay."

Hana beckoned for Sakura to follow her and ventured to the back of the house. Sakura glanced around at the sparse furnishings—the only decorations seemed to be pictures of family members and their ninken. Tsume was seated in a small room that was part office, part training room. There were books on one wall, and an assortment of toys, leashes, and treats on another. She had a tan puppy in her lap, which she was brushing with slow movements as if to convince the wildly-energetic ninken to calm down. She glanced up at Hana's entrance, her tinted eyebrows rising slightly.

"Mom, this is Sakura," Hana said by way of introduction. "The Hokage gave us a medical case, and we need your thoughts."

"Come and sit," Tsuma said briskly, tapping the puppy on the nose when it went to nip at her finger. "Kiba, was your mission successful?" she asked her son as he followed Hana into the room.

"Yes, Mom," he said, straightening like he was standing in front of Tsunade. "Mission report turned in; I'm on standby until Shino gets back."

Tsume nodded once, sharply. Kiba relaxed a little before seating himself at the table beside Hana. Sakura joined him a moment later, jumping slightly when the puppy made a break for freedom and scampered across her lap and directly to Kiba.

"Speak," Tsume said to Hana, setting the grooming brush aside.

"There's a patient at the hospital that was attacked. His father said it was by a wild animal, but Tsunade-sama wanted to be absolutely sure of the animal's identity. Sakura did the examination report, and Tsunade-sama asked me to verify," Hana reported.

"I have pictures of the worst of the injuries," Sakura spoke up, pulling her folder out again. She slid the photos across the table to Tsume, who picked them up one at a time. Kiba watched his mother's face closely as he scratched the puppy's ears.

Tsume's expression hardened, and her eyes narrowed. "I assume you told the Hokage about the _mochikabu kiba-jutsu_?" she asked Hana. Hana nodded.

"But from what I know, that doesn't tell us what clan is responsible. That's a basic jutsu—"

"The Inuhara clan," Tsume said without letting her daughter finish. Kiba's eyes widened.

"But, Mom...they were wiped out over ten years ago!" He'd only ever heard about them in his mother's lectures, when she was telling Kiba about how he'd cause the clan to fall into obscurity if he didn't train harder.

"Fifteen," his mother said with a nod. "But they were known for their _toku hiyaku-jutsu—_the Far Leap. The bruising here and here-" she pointed to the second picture. "That's from being hit and thrown flat. The other clue is that there's only two bites—neither of them deep, just hard. The Inuhara clan was known for their hunting and capture tactics, not for close, throat-ripping combat."

"The clan disappeared," Hana told Sakura. "One of the many disappearances chalked up to spirits in some of the rural villages along the border of the Country of Wind. The Third Hokage had an ANBU team investigate, but found no clues. Shortly after that, the surviving villagers were incorporated into the growing cities, and there were no more problems."

A creeping feeling came over Sakura—this sounded entirely too much like the Land of the Sea mission Naruto had gone on with Ino and Shino. A shiver like ice water wound down her spine and she tried to squash the feeling before it showed on her face.

Kiba and his mother looked at one another, then at Sakura. "Do you wish to share your revelation with us?" Tsume said after a moment.

"I—how did you…?" Sakura stammered.

"Your smell changed," Kiba explained quickly. "It's easier to tell when we're in close quarters with a person. Don't ever lie to a ninken shinobi when they can smell you."

Sakura took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. "Kiba, did Shino ever mention the mission he went on to the Land of the Sea? The team leader was Anko-sama."

"Yeah," Kiba said after a moment. "Shino didn't say much; Naruto insisted on destroying a lab belonging to Orochimaru."

"This story sounds exactly the same," Sakura said. "Villagers disappearing, rumors of a wild creature attacking people…"

"Isarabi," Hana said. "Tsunade-sama worked personally on her treatment. I contributed some research—very little, all told, but we were happy to see her released."

"We have to tell Tsunade-sama!" Kiba exclaimed, jumping to his feet so fast that the puppy in his lap narrowly avoided being catapulted into Hana. "If there's another lab that had an experiment escape—"

"Sit, Kiba," his mother commanded. "It is far too late this evening to go to the Hokage with this information. Accompany Sakura in the morning, and I will take the time to compile a brief history of the Inuhara clan for you to bring to the Hokage."

"Thank you, Tsume-sama," Sakura said with a quick bob of her head. "I'm grateful for your time."

"I doubt this is the last time we will speak on this subject," Tsume said. Hana rose and went to the door as Sakura packed up her bag. "Come back if you have more questions." Sakura headed for the front of the house, and had just started to slip her sandals back on when Kiba came up behind her.

"Sakura...Akamaru and I will pick you up after our walk in the morning." Kiba shoved his hands in his pockets, thinking. "I want to help with this mission, when Tsunade-sama sends a team out." Kiba wasn't sure why he was telling Sakura, but if there was a shinobi and a ninken involved...someone with the ability to read the situation should go.

The pink-haired medical ninja looked back over her shoulder at him. "I think that's a good idea, but with the way the missions are, with the jounin and other chuunin being gone so much...I guess neither of us know what Tsunade-sama will decide." She stood up and slipped her arms through the straps of her backpack. "I'll see you early tomorrow, _ne_?"

_"Hai,"_ Kiba nodded, and she departed.

* * *

**Part Three**

_The Hokage's Office_

Shizune blinked at Tsunade. The Hokage looked back at her assistant without flinching, and after a moment, Shizune looked away.

"What? No second-guessing?" Tsunade asked with a raised eyebrow.

"With Anko away on long-term assignment, the logical choice is Team Kakashi," Shizune said. "They've already been inside Orochimaru's latest base when they found Sasuke."

* * *

**Part Four**

_The Outskirts of the Country of Rice_

"This is where Eito was attacked," Yamato said with a quick look around. The dirt road the group had been following took a sudden turn eastward. Early afternoon sun slanted down through the trees, and their shadows were beginning to creep across the road, shading the team.

Akamaru's nose was already to the ground as he began to search for signs of the wild ninken. Kiba hopped up into the nearest tree and began surveying the underbrush for any signs of disturbance. "Akamaru!" he called, and the white ninken lifted his head before bounding off deeper into the ferns that covered the forest floor. An answering series of barks led Team Kakashi off of the road, to small patch of flattened and broken ferns.

Akamaru relayed his findings to Kiba, and the chuunin translated, "There's the smell of blood, probably Eito's. There's a strange human and ninken smell, too, and we can track that."

Yamato looked over at Naruto. "Can you tell the difference?"

Naruto went over to Akamaru and sniffed around for a moment. "No; the shinobi and ninken are together. The smells aren't separate."

"Very well, we'll split up. Kiba, Akamaru, and Sai will follow the new scent and hopefully locate wherever the shinobi and ninken are now," Yamato said. "Naruto, Sakura and I will retrace its movements. The teams will take no more than six hours to search before we will return here to camp." He looked each of the squadmates in the eye, and everyone nodded.

Kiba's gaze shifted sideways to Sai, whose pale face betrayed no hint of expression. He'd never been assigned to work with the ANBU ninja before, and he wasn't entirely sure that he trusted somebody who he knew worked for Danzou. But Kiba shook the thought away. What was important was finding the thing that had attacked Eito. If there were survivors of the Inuhara clan...Kiba didn't want to finish that line of thought, not without proof.

Sai had a scroll out, and was quickly scribbling something. A moment later, he laid the paper down on the ground, and half a dozen rabbits made from ink sat up. Akamaru sniffed one experimentally, and it immediately panicked and vanished through the underbrush. The other five followed suit, and Sai put his artist supplies back in his bag before nodding to Kiba.

"Ink won't fool a ninken," Kiba said as he leaped to the nearest branch, scenting carefully for the appropriate direction. Akamaru sprang up beside him and gave an agreeing bark. Sai joined the two of them and immediately set off in pursuit of his paintings.

"Not the smell, no," Sai agreed. "But the movement may distract long enough for us to assess the situation."

Kiba had to grudgingly agree that it was true; if it moved and kept moving, a poorly-trained ninken was likely to chase it until it gave up.

Trees sped by in a blur as Akamaru took the lead, zigzagging through the forest. The trail crossed itself several times along a large river, probably the wild ninken's primary water source. As they hunted, every so often Kiba would spot flashes of black ears and tails moving through the brambles and weeds on the forest floor as Sai's rabbits scampered ahead of them.

Akamaru stopped short with a warning growl. Kiba dropped into a crouch beside him, eyes studying the scene below carefully. The remains of a recently-killed deer littered a small clearing in the underbrush. The kill hadn't been clean, Kiba could tell. He watched as two of Sai's rabbits carefully crept closer to the scene to investigate.

"Probably a few hours old," Sai noted. "And it was interrupted."

There definitely was a lot of uneaten meat still on the carcass, and Kiba decided after a moment that it was safe enough to inspect up close. "The ninken's inexperienced. It probably tried to use the Far Leap technique, but missed, startling the deer. The deer ran and the ninken was desperate enough for the kill that it attacked any way it could." He pointed to the bites and claw marks along what remained of the deer's hindquarters.

"A juvenile, then?" Sai asked. Kiba was mystified.

"Akamaru was tiny when he was a puppy. Only a large breed ninken could do it, but it'd be hard. The shinobi had to have helped, but I don't see any human tracks."

"The rabbits still smell the shinobi, though," Sai countered, consulting one of the dark, inky lagomorphs. "And...other humans."

Akamaru bounded forward, to another patch of disturbed underbrush and barked three times.

"More blood," Kiba reported. "But this is the ninken's. Hunters, I'd guess. If both the shinobi and the ninken have been out here awhile, then the farms and villages around here might have a reward out for it being killed."

"They injured it, but it still escaped," Sai noted. "And the hunters are likely still in the forest."

Kiba paused suddenly. "The shinobi's scent ends here. It just…it's gone." He glanced at Akamaru for confirmation, and the white ninken yipped.

"We should stick with the trail we have," Sai said, and Kiba had to agree. Of the pair, the ninken was obviously the one the hunters were after. They'd have time to sort out the mystery later.

* * *

**Part Five**

_Deeper in the Forest_

There was a warning snarl—Kiba and Sai froze. Akamaru answered with a low growl of his own, planting himself in front of Kiba. His nose lifted slightly, and Kiba could also pinpoint the ninken's location-in a tall stand of ferns ahead and to the left.

"We've got to catch it before those hunters can finish it off," Kiba said quietly to Sai, who nodded. Almost faster than Kiba could follow, he had a blank scroll and his brush in his hands and was painting. Then Sai laid the scroll down on the ground and five snakes swelled up from the paper and slithered free.

"First, draw the enemy out," Sai murmured. "Assess its strength. Then form a plan." The tails of the snakes disappeared as they advanced towards the ninken's hideout.

The snarling persisted before exploding into wild barking punctuated with the sound of a struggle. Kiba and Akamaru tensed as the ferns ahead shook with the impact of a body against them. Kiba saw a flash of dirty brown fur—a leg. Sai put up one arm as one of his ink creations was thrown through the air before dissolving back into its original medium.

"Look out!" Kiba yelled, reflexively springing backwards and up onto the nearest tree branch. Sai followed, but not before the elusive ninken burst out of its shelter and came at the two shinobi. Akamaru barred its path with a snarl—the wild ninken was smaller, but the cornered look in its eyes was enough warning. It still had one of Sai's snakes wrapped around its tail, moving for its hindquarters, but the ninken didn't appear to notice as it sized Akamaru up.

The dog looked beleaguered and filthy. The mud from the river had matted its tawny fur, and Kiba could see where the hunters had speared it in the right hindquarter. It had a dark patch of fur along its back, better to blend in with its surroundings just like his mother had told him the Inuhara clan's ninken looked, and sharp, pointed ears which were currently flattened against its skull. It panted heavily, but for all that Kiba didn't think it was done fighting.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, jumping down beside the white ninken. He put his hand on Akamaru's head. If this ninken had a shinobi, perhaps it would recognize the gesture. But there was no spark, only animal instinct. The wild ninken dropped lower to the ground, tensing its muscles as if to jump at them.

Kiba reached for his pouch. Hana had given him a few different forms of tranquilizers, at the Hokage's request. His fingers closed around the dried meat treats he carried for Akamaru. These he withdrew and opened. He gave one to Akamaru as a demonstration, then tossed another to the wild ninken. It's hazel eyes tracked the food, but the other dog didn't relax.

"Sai." Kiba pulled one of the injectors Hana had prepared and tossed it up to the other shinobi. "Watch for an opening." Sai nodded, crouching up on his tree branch.

"Akamaru, sit,' Kiba said, and then made a show of petting his own ninken. Akamaru played along, his tail thumping the dirt softly. "Where is your friend?" he asked the wild ninken calmly, scratching behind Akamaru's ears. "I am Akamaru's friend—do you have one, too? A shinobi?"

The wild ninken's growling faded to an occasional _whuff_ as it studied the human before it. It lowered its head to sniff at the treat Kiba had tossed, even as Kiba kept speaking.

"Are you from the Inuhara clan, the dogs of the wilderness? I'm from the Inuzuka clan-you might not be old enough to have heard of my clan, but we're from Konoha." Kiba kept up a calm patter of conversation, and the ninken gradually began to lose some of the hostility in its stance.

Kiba kept stroking Akamaru, scratching under his chin. After a moment, Akamaru allowed his tongue to loll out in apparent pleasure. Kiba knew that the nin-dog was on guard, but they had to make the act look good, in case the wild ninken attacked when Sai took his chance.

After almost half an hour of conversation and spoiling Akamaru silly, the wild ninken apparently decided that if Akamaru hadn't dropped dead from eating the meat treat, it wouldn't either. It gobbled up the morsel, chewing delicately. Kiba suspected that it had worked a few teeth loose with its unpredictable attacks in days previous.

Sai blitzed out of his tree faster than the eye could follow and planted the injector in the ninken's shoulder. The ninken turned, heightened senses almost anticipating the movement. Its teeth were bared, and it latched onto Sai's wrist before the shinobi had a chance to dodge.

"Agh!" Sai bit down on a cry of pain, but he couldn't pull free from the ninken, whose snarling had intensified to the point that Sai could feel it vibrating up his arm. Kiba started forward, but the tranquilizer had already taken effect as the wild ninken's legs folded up beneath it and its jaw loosened. Sai stumbled back a step before sitting down abruptly. His last remaining snake took it upon itself to slither around the ninken's muddy paws, drawing them together so that the dog was effectively tied up.

"Let me see," Kiba said, sliding Sai's sleeve up. The skin was broken in only a few places, but the bruising was going to be far worse. Kiba's eyebrows drew together. The bite pattern wasn't the same as Eito's. So the shinobi had done it, after all. And he or she had managed to make a clean escape while leaving their ninken to take the fall. He bit back a curse and instead pulled out a bandage. He wrapped Sai's arm carefully.

"Sakura'll take a look when we get back," Kiba said. He glanced over at the unconscious ninken. Now that he had a chance to really look, Kiba knew that the ninken was female. He shook his head at the various scratches and injuries—Hana was going to have a tough job if they made it back to Konoha.

Sai didn't answer; it took Kiba a minute to figure out why—the painting ninja was at it again, his brush flying across yet another scroll. But this time, a large bird pulled itself free—so large that Akamaru took several steps backward and hid behind Kiba's legs. It flapped its wings once, creating a wind that rustled all the leaves on the nearby trees. Then the bird sidled up next to the captive ninken and wrapped its talons around it. Sai was already halfway up onto the bird's back before he saw the look on Kiba's face.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked. Kiba traded a look with Akamaru, who whined ever so slightly.

"Uh, we'll follow on the ground," Kiba said. "We'll have a better chance of picking up the shinobi's trail."

"We have to rendezvous soon," Sai pointed out.

"Just tell them we're right behind you," Kiba insisted. There was no way he was going to test fate up in the air like that.

Sai said nothing more; his bird pumped its wings and lifted off. It's silhouette blotted out the late afternoon sun for a moment, and Kiba watched the bird shrink into the sky before turning to Akamaru. "Let's go, boy."

* * *

**Part Six**

_The Outskirts of the Country of Rice_

Akamaru stopped short at the familiar bend in the road, but Kiba couldn't believe his eyes. There was a house sitting just off of the path. Naruto was leaning up against the outside, ostensibly keeping watch for the pair, since he waved at them.

"Hey, Kiba! This is Captain Yamato's wood jutsu at work. No camping out on the hard ground!"

"I like it," Kiba said with a grin. "How'd your team do?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head as Akamaru led the way inside the house. "Uh, well we found the place, but there was a lot of records, and reading. Sakura-chan went through it while I explored the rest of the place. Looks like the dogs they were working with got out of control. There were three ninken bodies, and six humans. I think they're better off, because I would've killed them for what they did."

"What?" Kiba asked, startled at the venom in Naruto's voice. "What did they do?"

"Sakura-chan said something about genetic chakra, and combining shinobi chakra traits with ninken traits," Naruto said, mumbling slightly as he tried to remember. Then the ferocity returned. "All I know is, they were torturing people in there. We saw it before with Isarabi, and I don't want it to happen again!"

At that, Kiba's teeth clenched. Akamaru was a part of his family—all the ninken of the Inuzuka clan were. "Darn it," he growled. "Do you remember what the ninken looked like?"

"Two were larger and older. One was brown, and the other black and brown. The third one was smaller, and looked almost like the one Sai brought back, but with a white streak." Naruto mimed a white stripe running from his nose up to his forehead.

"Where is she?" Kiba asked, but stopped short when he entered the main room on the first floor. Yamato had obviously constructed the wooden kennel that stood open, with the still-unconscious ninken inside. Sakura was tending to her, rinsing the mud from around the injuries and scratches before bandaging the ninken's legs. Yamato was standing behind Sakura, watching with a closed expression.

"Captain Yamato," Kiba said. "Did Sai tell you what we found?"

"_Hai_," Yamato replied. "Capturing the ninken went well. As for the shinobi…" Sakura's shoulders tensed. Yamato uncrossed his arms and faced Kiba. "You've captured her, too."

Kiba could only stare at Yamato. It was several moments before he found his voice. "You—you're saying…"

"The shinobi _is_ the ninken." Yamato turned back to watching Sakura. "The purpose of that lab was to make shinobi who could embody animal traits. We found evidence of snake testing—it must have been the first thing Orochimaru mastered. Then there was bird testing, which failed due to the weakness of the animals. There was limited feline information, but it seems the latest testing was on wolves and dogs." He walked over to a small stack of books that had been set aside in a corner.

Kiba glanced at the ninken—no, shinobi—again. Akamaru sat beside Sakura and whined softly before lying down as if to keep watch. After a moment, he followed Yamato, who was turning the pages of what appeared to be a handwritten journal.

"I'm keeping these records for the Hokage," Yamato said. "I suspect she will pass copies of them on to Hana, your sister. Here." He handed the journal to Kiba, who read the neat script with some trepidation.

The notes were a series of lineage notations, beginning with the eight original human test subjects and their ninken, for a total of twenty subjects. Each had a coded designation, and Kiba traced the lineage lines where they crossed and uncrossed.

His jaw clenched, and bile rose in his throat. "How could they do that? It's—it's not right!"

"Ethics wouldn't stop Orochimaru," Yamato said with a trace of rancor in his voice. Kiba looked up and saw a distant, pained look on his face. As if aware he was being watched, Yamato's expression smoothed out and he tapped the next page. "Keep reading."

Kiba was sure by now that he didn't want to, but he obeyed. New designations were added, signifying the birth of new shinobi and ninken, but then older designations started to disappear. There were neat, simple explanations: _died in exploratory chakra surgery, died due to rapid aging._

Anger welled up inside Kiba as he turned to the next page, watching as the designations continued to peter out, until there was only one adult and the three ninken left. Then there were two more designations added on the same day: one for a ninken and one that was decidedly different from the rest, written in bold, red ink.

"Those…" Kiba snarled and found he didn't have an expansive enough insult to encompass the feeling of raw hatred and loathing welling up inside of him. Yamato's hand landed on his shoulder.

"I know, Kiba." Yamato's expression sharpened. "But the people who did this were killed by the ninken, all to let her escape. She's young and untrained—we don't know what kind of chakra control is at work."

"Captain Yamato," Naruto spoke up quietly. "Is she a freak, like me?"

"Naruto!" Sakura said reproachfully, standing up and picking up her medical supplies. "You're not a freak, any more than Kiba or Sai or Captain Yamato." She went to the door and emptied the bowl of water she'd used to clean the ninken's injuries.

"'Different' does not mean 'freak', Naruto," Yamato said, setting the book he'd given Kiba back on top of the pile. "We know this best of all. Sakura, how is she?"

Sakura began putting her supplies back into her pouch and bag. "She won't get any infections, and I started healing her leg, but she'll need to rest until it's better. And her chakra's locked, somehow. It's not flowing like it should."

"Hm." Yamato went over and Akamaru raised his head to look at the jounin hopefully, his tail thumping. Yamato crouched beside Akamaru and placed his hand on the shinobi/ninken's head. _"Hakidasu!"_

Immediately, the ninken's tawny fur flattened into nonexistence. Bone structures shifted; Kiba had felt that before, every time he used the Four Legs technique things had to adjust. Akamaru drew back, and Kiba laid a hand on his head to quiet him as the shinobi's true form emerged.

Like Kiba, her eyes retained a canine-like appearance, and her dark hair was wild and unkempt, much like the ruff of her ninken shape. Her fingers and toes ended in sharp-looking claws, and the two-toned shades of her ninken coat were apparent in the skin tone of her face. Where the fur of the ninken had been a light brown, her skin was normal. But where the fur had begun shading into black, particularly above the eyes and nearer her ears, there were darker patches of skin, lending an almost mottled look to her face.

She was dressed in a silver mesh suit that had been ripped in several places, and judging from the shortened sleeves and legs, was meant to stay with her no matter what form she was in. She had no shoes or other possessions, and Kiba's hands clenched as he thought about what her life had been like up to this point.

"Well, we'll let her sleep," Yamato said, sliding the wooden cage door closed. He sealed it with his wood technique and stood up.

"You're leaving her in there?" Naruto asked.

"For our safety," Yamato replied with a nod. "You know what she did to Sai's arm today. And to Eito when she wasn't...transformed. She attacked him without being provoked, as far as we know."

"Just because her shape is human, doesn't mean her mind understands," said Sai, coming into the room. At that, Kiba's eyes narrowed and Akamaru's fur fluffed out a bit.

"We're going to help, then!" Kiba replied hotly, and Akamaru concurred with a _whuff_.

"That's right!" Naruto joined in, standing on Akamaru's other side. He pointed a finger at Sai. "Everybody's different, but we've all learned enough to get us this far. No matter where we came from or the fights we've overcome, we're all standing here."

"There's never no hope," Kiba insisted. "My mom always told me that training hard was the only way to succeed as a shinobi. And if I have to train this Inuhara clan survivor myself, then I'll do it!"

Sai merely looked at them with his normal, indifferent expression, and then his eyes squinted as he smiled. "It looks like some of Naruto's spirit is rubbing off on you, Kiba," he said, seating himself.

Kiba paused in his small speech, startled. He glanced over at Naruto, who was looking right back. "What, _his_ spirit?" Kiba scoffed after a moment, his anger cooling slightly. "Heh. If Naruto's not careful, he'll be catching _my _attitude instead."

Yamato interrupted before a real argument could get underway. "We shouldn't be in any danger this close to a major road with the protective seals on the building, so everyone eat and then sleep. We'll leave for Konoha tomorrow." His almond-shaped eyes were distant for a moment, but his attention returned to the four younger shinobi as if nothing had happened.

The small group broke up then; Naruto went to make himself some instant ramen, Sakura unpacked the rice cakes she'd made, and Kiba decided to take Akamaru out for a walk. Yamato went back to the pile of books and selected one from the bottom. He seated himself and began to read without further comment.

That left Sai to himself. He had some dried rations with him, which he removed from his pack, along with a new book he'd recently seen at the small bookshop down the street from him. _Self-Expression and the Art of Action._ Sai went out to the balcony, where he could enjoy the view of the sunset while he read.

Distantly, he heard Akamaru barking—a sound he had come to be more familiar with the longer he spent among the chuunin Naruto and Sakura counted as friends. But he didn't hear Kiba's answering laugh or even a shout of encouragement. _He is worried about the wild shinobi,_ Sai concluded. He hadn't spent much time with Kiba, but aside from Akamaru, whom Sai had quickly learned was to be treated with as much respect as a shinobi, he seemed remarkably like Naruto. Then Sai thought back to all of the friendship-building techniques he had tried on his teammate and decided that for tonight, at least, he would leave well enough alone.

* * *

**Part Seven**

_In the House Yamato Built_

Of the five shinobi, Kiba and Naruto chose to sleep downstairs within easy sight of the wooden kennel Yamato had made. Kiba was the first to hear the escape attempt.

_Scratch. Scratch. Scratch._

Akamaru's floppy ears perked up, and he tensed, which woke Kiba, who was curled up beside him. The noise came again, quick and quiet in the early morning silence that hung over the house.

Before Kiba could stop him, Akamaru lazily rolled over and stretched before standing fully. He then padded quietly over to the wooden bars of the kennel, tail wagging slowly. What was the ninken thinking? Kiba remained in his sleeping position, watching Akamaru from beneath partially-closed eyelids. He'd have to shift a little bit to see what the Inuhara shinobi was doing; currently his shoulder was blocking his view.

With a feigned sigh, Kiba pulled his blanket tighter around himself and pretended to stretch in his sleep, unfolding his body enough that he now had a clear line of sight of the wooden enclosure.

Akamaru was sitting calmly in front of the door, sniffing politely at the girl on the other side of the slats. For her part, she didn't seem to be afraid of the white ninken, and after a moment she even moved a few inches closer. And then the conversation began. Kiba listened carefully; the noises the girl made were so quiet he almost couldn't hear them.

_You're new dog. Smell not like any other dog, _she said. _Nin-dog?_

_Yes, I am nin-dog to the scruffy one, _Akamaru replied. She cast a glance over the two humans in the room before reproaching Akamaru with a snort.

_The dark fur one,_ Akamaru amended in explanation. _Knew your smell yesterday._

She bristled and bared her teeth—Kiba could see the sharpened incisors on top and bottom. _Chased me._

_Required by mission,_ Akamaru said without apology. The tone he used was wary, Kiba could tell. _You hurt human puppy, maybe more. Why?_

_He blocked path,_ she replied, narrowing her hazel eyes at him. _Path to escape. Path to life._

_Hurt others, hurt all humans?_ Akamaru inquired, bending to lick one of his paws in apparent indifference.

_All humans hurt me,_ she said with the same cool tone. At that, Akamaru's tail thumped once in amusement.

_Do not know all humans,_ he pointed out somewhat sagely. _Mine is my family._

She didn't have a reply to that; perhaps she was unfamiliar with the word 'family'. Kiba couldn't be sure how someone that had been born and raised in a laboratory would understand that. Or even the word 'friend'.

_You block path now,_ she pointed out to Akamaru. _Must escape. _Kiba stiffened; that was a bad sign. She was giving Akamaru fair warning, much like dogs growled and postured at each other before launching into an attack.

_Why—_ Akamaru started to ask, but by that time, Naruto was beginning to stir. The girl's eyes darted from the stretching shinobi to Akamaru. Then she scooted to the back of the cage and brought her hands together, already forming a seal.

_"Toku hiyaku-jutsu!"_

Kiba sat up, casting his blanket aside. "Akamaru, get back!" he shouted, but he needn't have worried. His ninken had already dodged out of the way as the girl planted her bare feet against the rear wall of the kennel and used her Far Leap technique to propel herself forward. Her left shoulder struck one of the bars, and it snapped. The resulting opening was large enough for her to get out, although Kiba noted that she was now favoring her left arm.

"What's—?" Naruto demanded fuzzily, now mostly awake and standing, even if all he had in his hand was his pillow. He saw the girl picking herself up off of the floor and his blue eyes went wide. "Hey, stop! We don't wanna have to hurt you!"

Kiba's ears picked up a noise from upstairs; clearly the other shinobi had heard the disturbance. If he and Naruto could buy a little more time…

The girl couldn't seem to decide what to do with herself. She stood half-crouched, as if unsure of her escape plan after this point. Her injured leg was already partially-buckled, and after a moment she was forced to drop to all fours. Her eyes roved the room and she backed away from Akamaru and Kiba, who were closest to her. She snarled something to Akamaru, and Kiba almost didn't understand.

_Warn them. They keep me, they die. I follow path._

Akamaru's hackles were up, but he responded with Naruto's words. _Stop this. We do not want to cause you hurt. Path leads to this pack. Path leads to life in this pack._

Kiba was startled. Akamaru couldn't promise that—the Hokage would be the one to decide what happened to the Inuhara survivor.

Steps on the stairs—Sakura dashed into view. Sai was close behind her, but he kept his distance this time.

The increased amount of ninja in the room did nothing to dissuade the girl from her course of action. In fact, their presence made her abandon any further attempt to communicate as she backed toward the front door. Naruto was trying to press in on her other side, but he was without his weapons and clearly didn't want to try tackling the girl.

Sakura, however, wasn't about to hesitate. She charged forward, elbowing Kiba aside. "You listen up!" she said firmly to the girl. "Your leg is injured, your chakra is a mess, you need at least three decent meals, and what's more, clothing-you sit down right there and _don't move_. You hear me? **_Sit._**"

Akamaru's rump hit the floor at the same time the girl's did. Kiba even considered obeying when he heard that tone of voice. It was a mix of his mother and Tsunade-sama; a formidable combination.

Sakura blew a pink lock of hair out of her eyes and surveyed the damage to the kennel as well as her patient. "And I suppose you probably hurt yourself escaping from Yamato-senpai's creation, too," she said, but in a quieter tone of voice. The girl looked back at Sakura, clearly surprised.

As if summoned, Yamato opened the sliding front door behind the Inuhara girl, who whipped around, teeth bared as her only route to freedom was blocked. Then apparently identifying Yamato, she cringed away from him. The shinobi leader was careful not to close the distance as he regarded the girl for a long moment. Apparently whatever he was thinking didn't need saying.

"My name is Yamato," he said by way of introduction. "I am the captain of this group." He kept his empty hands loose at his sides, so she could see he wasn't hiding anything. "We are from the Hidden Leaf Village of Konoha."

The girl's eyes had lost none of their trapped expression as Yamato spoke, and she kept her injured leg tucked beneath her, as if preparing to summon the strength to make it work for a last-ditch attempt to dash past him.

"Akamaru," Kiba said softly. "Tell her what Captain Yamato said." His ninken _whuffed_ his acknowledgement.

_That is pack leader_, Akamaru explained. _Yamato-taichou. Our pack claims Konoha as territory, and you are welcomed to it._

A surprised snort was Akamaru's answer. _What is 'welcomed'? Yamato-taichou made life trap._ And here her gaze went to the ruined wooden cage, and she made a sound in the back of her throat to indicate her distrust.

_You harmed human puppy, _Akamaru reminded patiently. _Hurt others, maybe. Pack leader is careful._

She didn't have a reply for that, but Kiba was sure for a moment that her smell changed to guilt. Kiba looked at Yamato, wanting to explain what was happening. "Captain Yamato, Akamaru is...translating."

"But she understood Sakura-chan," Naruto said a bit uneasily, directing a slightly scared look at the medical ninja.

"She understood 'sit'," Sai said calmly. "A basic command." Clearly, he was still sticking to the theory that her mind was nothing more than an animal's. Kiba ground his teeth together.

"Akamaru—" he began, but his ninken was way ahead of him.

_Pale one you bit yesterday says you have mind of animal. No training except attack. Pale one is correct?_

She growled her response, her hazel eyes flickering to Sai. _Trained to attack people since puppy. Bad at everything else._

That explained the messy kill in the forest. She'd probably never seen a deer before. She didn't know how to hunt animals, only people. And that was why she hadn't exactly been able to curb her instincts upon encountering Eito in the forest, especially if she'd been pursued in any way by hunters or angry villagers.

Akamaru wagged his tail once. _Still puppy, _he told her with more levity than Kiba felt. _Puppy could train for other things._

There was a long pause while her gaze moved from person to person, clearly assessing the situation. _Training is not part of path to escape, _she eventually replied, but her body language said she'd already given up on that course of action for the moment.

_Escape is behind, _Akamaru told her firmly. _Path of life ahead, with new smells, sounds, tastes. Without training, puppy will not understand them._

She acknowledged that with a dip of her head. A good move—a sign that Akamaru was dominant in her eyes. Likely she didn't trust him—not yet. At the same time, she had already encountered things she didn't understand, and they had probably frightened her.

_She hadn't expected to be alone, but she is. The rest of the survivors and descendants of the Inuhara clan are gone,_ Kiba thought. _What'll she do when she sees a village like Konoha for the first time?_ All of a sudden, it seemed like this mission wasn't just going to end by returning home.

Akamaru stood and padded closer to her, and this time, she didn't draw back. _Path of life brought you here, to my pack. Stay with pack for now. Harm no one. You are shinobi nin-dog. Nin-dogs proud and honorable. Shinobi in pack also honorable._

_Do not belong to pack,_ she protested. She bit off whatever she was about to say next and let her gaze move up to first Sakura, then Kiba's face. _Pack shinobi different from den humans?_

It took Akamaru a moment to realize what she meant, but Kiba spoke first, startling Naruto and Sakura who had been listening to the dog-conversation with utterly no comprehension.

"Yes, we are different. There is no den. This path is different." Her face lost some of its tense expression, and she turned back to Akamaru.

_Your human speaks as you,_ she told Akamaru. _Understands?_

_Fang is smart,_ Akamaru acknowledged. _Smart unless attacked. Then attacks first. Troublesome. Called Kiba by humans._

"Kiba," she repeated aloud.

"Hey, how did she know your name?" Naruto asked, and Kiba sighed with a huff of exasperation.

"Because Akamaru is explaining our pack to her," he said. "Uh, if that's all right, Captain." It had better be, because Akamaru had already done it.

Yamato nodded. "Will she come with us peacefully?"

Akamaru barked once.

"I think so," Kiba said. "She respects Akamaru as a dominant adult. She also understands him far better."

"I see," Yamato said thoughtfully, his attention wandering back to the stack of books. No doubt he was recalling some kind of research from the volumes, but what he said instead was: "We'll leave in half an hour—we should be to the outskirts of Konoha by sundown."

"Wait," Kiba told the rest of the team at Akamaru's prompting. "The rest of the pack should introduce themselves." With any luck, getting her to assign the idea of 'pack' to the other Konoha ninjas would decrease the chances of her attacking them if something went wrong on the way back to the village.

"Oh, of course. I'm Sakura," the medical ninja said immediately.

"Uh, Sakura...do you mind letting her smell you?" Kiba asked awkwardly after some thought. "It's a ninken thing."

If Sakura thought the request odd, it was only for a second. Then she crouched so that she was looking the younger girl in the eye before holding out her hand as if to greet her.

_Human custom,_ Akamaru explained. _Sakura offers her scent. Know it, then obey custom._

The girl did as Akamaru described; she leaned forward to catch Sakura's scent—a curious mix of soft cherry blossoms combined with the sharper tang of medicinal herbs. Then she offered her own hand to Sakura, who carefully avoided her claws, and shook it solemnly.

Naruto came over and watched the exchange, before sticking out his hand next. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he proclaimed with a grin.

_Loud,_ Kiba overheard her mutter to Akamaru. The white ninken grinned and his tail went up in amusement, and Kiba smiled—it was an accurate assessment.

Sai followed Naruto, although he was a little hesitant about sticking his arm out near the person who had attacked him just yesterday. The girl eyed him with a similar amount of distrust, probably remembering that he'd been the one to stab her with a needle.

"Sai," the pale shinobi said. She grudgingly shook his hand, but only after Akamaru made it clear that she had to because she was the puppy, and he was older than a puppy. It wasn't a good reason, but it was a reason.

But when Yamato shut the doors behind him and held out his hand, she reflexively brought up one shoulder, tucking her head down as if expecting to be struck.

_Yamato-taichou is honorable,_ Akamaru urged her, but the girl's only response was to make herself smaller. Nothing Akamaru could say changed her position—Yamato had made a 'life trap' and sealed her inside. He was one step short of a 'den human' in her eyes.

"Sorry, Captain," Kiba said, translating. "She's afraid of you." He didn't want to add her explanation—Yamato had been right to contain her.

"Oh? That's fine," Yamato said easily, casting a significant look in Naruto's direction. Naruto caught the glance and backed up a step himself.

"I'm Kiba," Kiba said, grateful that he could provide a distraction by introducing himself last. "I'm from the Inuzuka clan. What is your name?"

"Name _Joshuubi_," she said clearly. Kiba remembered the red lettering in the book—_happy result; success._

"That's not a name," Sakura said a trifle indignantly. "That's what the...scientists...called you in their notes. What—" she started to ask, but caught herself.

_What did your family call you? _Kiba could see from the expression on Sakura's face that she didn't want to go near that question.

"We'll call you Michi," he decided aloud in the awkward silence that followed. _For the path you want to follow, a name like that fits. _Kiba told that to Akamaru, who expressed his agreement with a soft _woof_. Michi, so called, looked between Kiba and Akamaru with a faintly puzzled expression as if unsure what to do now.

Fortunately, Yamato had the answer. "Pack up; move out." He remained where he was, and as soon as Michi had space, she lengthened the distance between them. She refused to get any closer to the broken cage, which Kiba now inspected. She must have spent hours scratching grooves into the bar, weakening it enough to break when she hit it with her jutsu.

Sakura had gone upstairs, and when she came back down she went over to Michi, who was sitting in a corner watching the others with a keen gaze as if waiting for them to make a false movement. She sat like a dog, with her hands braced on the floor in front of her, and her legs bent at the knee on either side, as if she had just crouched down. Kiba was familiar enough with that pose; he used it as part of the Four Legs technique.

Michi drew away slightly, but Sakura was quick to crouch down herself. "Michi, will you let me look at your shoulder?" she asked quietly. Sakura hadn't missed the large bruise developing throughout the odd conversation Michi had had with Akamaru. It was visible through one of the many holes torn in Michi's silver suit, and if they were going to be traveling all day, it was best that any preventative measures be taken before they departed.

The younger girl looked at Sakura frankly, her hazel eyes saying she didn't understand the question. Sakura pointed to the bandages on Michi's forearms and calves, amazingly undisturbed for all they'd been through, and then to her shoulder.

* * *

**Part Eight**

_On the Road Back to Konoha_

"You said they were dead!" Kiba yelled at Naruto as the two large ninken circled the group. He found himself pressed into a back-to-back formation with Sai and Yamato. Akamaru was just in front of him, hackles fully raised and teeth bared at the large ninken.

"They were!" Naruto shouted back from where he was standing with Sakura. Michi was frozen, watching the smaller ninken—the one who matched her coloring, save for the white streak on the bridge of its nose. Almost unconsciously, she started forward, her straight upright posture vanishing as she dropped back onto all fours.

"Michi!" Sakura said urgently, trying to catch hold of the shinobi. Her gloved hands slid right off of Michi's silver suit, until one finger caught in a tear above the sleeve. Michi stopped, but only to look over her shoulder in confusion. Sakura could feel the dark waves of chakra coming from the ninken; they _were _dead, but even in death something else was controlling them.

Kiba wanted to tell Akamaru to go to Michi; explain that this wasn't her pack anymore—these creatures were servants of Orochimaru, now completely turned into puppets and slaved to his will. But there was no escaping either of the large nin-dogs still pacing around the group, drawing them in tighter as if they were herding the Konoha shinobi.

* * *

**Part Nine**

_Konoha Border_

"Captain Yamato, we should stop," Sakura said as the distant sun cast its fiery amber light across the treetops. Her arm ached and she knew that Kiba was similarly suffering from the bruises to his ribs. The scratches on Naruto's face had already healed, and he was the only one that didn't look ready to drop in the dusty road from exhaustion.

Michi was sprawled out on Akamaru's back, her eyes half-lidded. The blood from her re-opened leg wound had dried on the bandage, and at least two of her fingers were going to need better splints when Sakura had more medical supplies to work with.

The team had barely stopped for anything after their delay with the ninken and Gokuri, the warden. It had been disheartening to see how fast Michi had abandoned all pretense of hope as she buried her brother. Working with one hand had made the task take three times as long, but she hadn't wanted help from the shinobi. Only Akamaru had been permitted to approach and he had sat by her side silently until she was finished.

Kiba hadn't overheard a conversation, but the next thing he knew, Michi had her hands in Akamaru's fur and she was holding on to him. The white ninken had held very still for that long moment, until Michi let go and tried to stand. Her leg gave out almost immediately, and Akamaru ducked his head and caught her across his back. She'd allowed him to carry her after that, heedless of anybody else.

"In a mile we'll be to the Ansoku Village," Yamato said over his shoulder, his black eye making him appear somewhat ghoulish. "They have hot springs and a reasonable guard force. We should be safe for the night, unless you _want_ to stop now."

Kiba caught Naruto giving Sai a very leery look, but Sakura was already nodding, apparently lost in thought. Kiba rolled his eyes and straightened his spine as his ribs gave a particularly strong ache of protest. He knew he certainly wouldn't mind stopping and letting the hot springs take first crack at his injuries before his mother saw them. Plus, Akamaru could do with a shampoo after rolling around in the dirt with the largest of the ninken.

"Sakura, will you be able to take care of Michi alone?" Yamato asked her quietly.

The medical ninja's eyes narrowed as if she were being challenged. "_Hai,_ Yamato-taichou. I haven't met the person yet that could withstand my bedside manner."

"Naruto could always use his 'sexy jutsu' to help," Sai suggested with an air of complete indifference. Naruto turned completely red and started yelling.

"Oh, and I suppose this time you're going to make cracks about how that jutsu's features are too small, too!"

Sakura shook her head as Sai and Naruto started arguing before glancing at Kiba. She saw the way he was watching Akamaru and Michi—he seemed distracted, and not for the first time, Sakura wondered what he was thinking. It couldn't have been easy for him, fighting what had once been ninken. She still didn't understand much about the ninken shinobi clan structure, but she imagined it was something like distant relatives you'd heard of, but never met.

As if sensing her gaze, Kiba raised his head and looked over at her. Sakura gave him a tired smile and pushed her bangs out of her eyes. He returned the expression almost absently before picking up his pace slightly to keep up with Yamato. The last mile went fairly quickly, now that the team had the hot springs to look forward to. The bright lanterns over the archway leading into the village proper shone brightly out onto the dirt road, and there was an evening bustle in the streets as people made their way home or stopped at the vendors to buy a hot meal for supper.

Yamato appeared to know his way around the village, for he headed immediately to a small square with a bubbling fountain and turned left. The steam from the hot springs began to cloy the air, and moisture began to build up in Sakura's hair. Naruto wiped condensation from his forehead protector before it could drip in his eyes.

"Hello Kaori-chan," Yamato called ahead, raising one hand to wave at someone through the gathering vapor. Distantly, a woman clad in a plain green kimono raised her head from some task and looked around.

"Yamato-kun!" Sakura could hear the delight in her voice as she set something aside and stood.

Naruto's eyes were practically bugging out of his head-he'd never heard someone greet their captain like that. He exchanged looks with Sai, who shrugged as if it didn't matter to him.

The group pulled up short just inside the entrance of a medium-sized complex, walled in with thick boards. The main house was simple—not eye catching like some of the other buildings nearby, and the gardens outside teemed with colorful blooms that hung heavy with the additional moisture in the air. Stone pathways wended their way through the meticulously-kept flowers, and bells sang softly from inside fountains as water trickled over them.

"It's been awhile," Yamato said with a friendly smile as Kaori closed the distance. "How are you?"

"Now that I've seen you, I have no problems!" Kaori replied with a laugh. "This must be the team you're so proud of," she went on, studying the motley group assembled behind him, unsure what was going on and just how Yamato knew this woman. "Let me see...Sakura-chan, of course. Hm...you must be Sai-kun; you have the hands of an artist. The other two are awfully quiet—which one is Naruto-kun?"

"I am," Naruto said without hesitation, standing up a little bit taller and puffing out his chest.

"The others are Inuzuka Kiba and his ninken Akamaru, and Inuhara Michi," Yamato said, gesturing to each in turn.

"I see that Konoha still works their shinobi very hard," Kaori observed with a rueful shake of her head, seeing the various bandages and scratches among them. "My house is open to you, of course, Yamato-kun. You remember where everything is—I'll take Sakura-chan and Michi-chan to the women's bath."

Then came the task of disengaging Michi from Akamaru, who stood patiently and waited while Sakura roused the young girl and managed to pry her loose with half-formed protests that were entirely in whines and half-hearted growls. Kiba found himself watching Kaori to see if the woman was afraid of Michi.

Kaori brushed back a lock of brown hair from where it had worked itself loose from the braid she wore it in and shook her head with a sigh. "Poor little _papi_," was all she said, however. "You've had the worst of it, haven't you?" And with that, she put her arms around Michi, who was all but swallowed by the flowing sleeves of Kaori's kimono.

Before Sakura knew what was happening, Michi was firmly attached to Kaori's waist, her face buried in the soft fabric of the woman's dress. "Come with me, Sakura-chan," Kaori said softly with a wink. The medical ninja followed without so much as a backwards glance.

Kiba glanced down at Akamaru as if for an explanation, and saw that his ninken was watching Kaori go with a bemused, almost dazed look on his face. Any manner of investigation, however, was forestalled when Yamato went up the stairs to the front of the house and removed his shoes, leaving them beside Sakura's already-abandoned sandals.

"Tea will be waiting in an hour, Yamato-kun," Kaori said over her shoulder as she disappeared around a corner within the building. "But please, take your time."

At that, Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore. "Yamato-taichou! Is that your girlfrie—eh, heh, heh," he trailed off when Yamato leveled a ghoul-eyed look at him, made worse by the bruise around his eye.

Kiba smirked at Naruto. "Idiot. Don't go prying, especially with the person who's making tea for us." He bent down to remove his own footwear, but his ribs hurt far too badly, so he settled for just kicking them off and leaving them in a somewhat-tidy arrangement by the door. Akamaru was careful to step lightly on the polished floors as the young men followed Yamato.

Sakura, for her part, had already been stripped, wrapped in a robe, and ushered into a smaller, private room walled with wood paneling that had stylized depictions of mountainside villages, bamboo forests, and graceful cranes. Kaori pulled down a piece of the paneling which folded out into the room, becoming a spout as hot water poured down into the pool in the center of the floor. Clouds of steam filled the room, and Sakura took the opportunity to ease herself into the water with a happy, weary sigh. The faint, sweet scent of herbs permeated the air, and she lay back and just closed her eyes for a moment. No boys, no wild scientists—just a few minutes of peace.

She was hardly aware of Kaori in the background, humming an old folk song to herself as she took care of Michi. The silver suit was harder to get off than it looked, and it was only after several patient moments and a pair of scissors that Kaori freed Michi from the tattered, form-fitting garment. Then she stripped off the bandages from yesterday and tossed them away.

"All right, in," Kaori commanded Michi with a smile, pointing to the hot water. "Go on, _papi,_" she said when the girl hesitated.

Michi obeyed, splashing a little noisily and immediately looking guilty, like she wasn't supposed to find anything about this new experience enjoyable. The water seemed to revive her spirit a little, and she looked up at Kaori.

"Mm, first time in a hot springs, I see," Kaori teased. "Well, let's make it a proper experience." She went and brought a small tray with assorted bottles and tins over, setting it on the ground within Sakura's easy reach. "Is she your sister?" the woman asked Sakura, pulling a bucket out from a hidden cupboard. She filled it with water from the pool and poured it over Michi's head, causing a strangled yelp and some sputtering.

Kaori ignored Michi and selected one of the bottles. It turned out to be shampoo, and Kaori rolled up her sleeves and began to work at untangling Michi's hair and getting it clean.

"Oh, no," Sakura said with a quick shake of her head. "Actually, we...found Michi on our mission. We're bringing her back to Konoha with us." She reached out with one hand and began to read the various labels on the bottles for herself. Finding one she liked, Sakura uncapped it and began to wash her own hair. It was a sharper, more refreshing smell, and Kaori smiled.

"That's my favorite," she said to Sakura, as if imparting a secret. "The eucalyptus really opens the senses, while the chamomile soothes. A touch of palm oil, and your hair will be smooth as silk."

"You make your own soaps?" Sakura asked, privately impressed. Kaori laughed.

"Of course. Now, the lavender and chamomile with vanilla...just the thing for tired children. Lavender is a great comforter," Kaori explained, separating some tangles from Michi's scalp and combing them out with her fingers. "If she's not asleep by the time I make tea, then I guarantee she'll fall asleep during supper."

Michi didn't seem to be following the conversation; rather, she was more interested in watching the foam on the surface of the water as it floated by. Every so often, she'd reach out with a hand and try to touch some, resulting in a splash and her jumping back.

Sakura finished lathering her hair and rinsed it out before cupping her hands together under a particularly large piece of foam. "Michi," she said as she did so, and the girl watched in fascination before trying to repeat the trick. "That's foam," Sakura said.

"F-foam," Michi repeated, just as Kaori poured another bucket of water over her head. She flailed for a moment before her senses kicked in and told her she wasn't going to drown. Now that her hair was clean, Sakura could see that when it was dry it would be a mix of blonde and brown, no doubt owing to her unusual ninken chakra.

Michi shook her head, dog-like, to get her hair out of her face, causing Sakura to emit a shriek and hold up her arms in defense. Kaori laughed behind her hand at the two of them before standing and putting the bucket away.

"Kaori-sama," Sakura began politely, "how do you know Captain Yamato?"

"Oh, we ran into each other years ago," Kaori said, fetching towels for both of her customers. "He was on an ANBU mission, of course. I was one of the witnesses he questioned after the village I lived in was destroyed. I don't know what made an impression on him—perhaps it was the perfume I was wearing—but he offered to help me relocate, if and when I was ready." She opened a sliding panel in the wall to reveal a closet with more towels, some extra robes, and several neatly-stacked crates.

"Well, of course you can't tie a shinobi down to anything if their mission schedule doesn't allow," Kaori went on, pulling a crate out and looking through its contents. "And I didn't want to be a bother. So I moved to Ansoku to restart my gardens and take advantage of the hot spring business. One day this tired-looking, dusty and not to mention _injured _shinobi drags himself into the village, along with what remained of his squad—and what do you suppose? There he was on his way back to Konoha. It was fate." Kaori pulled a simple, tan shirt from the crate, followed by a short brown skirt embroidered with white flowers around the bottom edge.

"Fate?" Sakura repeated. She had no idea her team leader believed in such things.

Then her hostess laughed again and shook her head. "I'm teasing, Sakura-chan! But it was fortuitous; I was able to treat and care for him and his squad, and in return, he built me this lovely building."

Sakura's eyes went wide. "Y-Yamato-taichou built _all_ of this?"

Kaori set the clothes aside and replaced the crate before closing the closet. "Yes, he did. He's quite creative and handy when he wants to be. And business isn't exactly thriving for me...many of the other bathhouses in the village have mixed baths, or outdoor pools as well—you get the idea. My gardens take up all of my space, so I just have a few private baths and one larger, public pool in each wing."

"But what about your soaps and things?" Sakura asked, having just smelled a few of the other things on the tray. There were ointments, and soaps, as well as lotions and creams.

"Just specialty items," Kaori said with a wave of her hand and a self-deprecating smile. "My gardens aren't nearly expansive enough to produce mass quantities of anything. Yamato-kun comes by from time to time when he's going to and from Konoha. He keeps up the building for me—speaking of which, I need to have him check the roof on the south side."

* * *

**Part Ten**

_Konoha Academy_

"Kiba," Iruka-sensei greeted, sounding startled. He had a right to be; Kiba didn't see much of the other chuunin anymore, and his academy students took up the bulk of his time. He hardly even spent time with Naruto anymore, thanks in part to all the training the genin was doing. Iruka sat back from the stack of essays he was looking through and set his pen down. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm here to pick up Michi," Kiba said with a quick look around. "I just got back from a mission and thought I could catch her."

"Michi wasn't in school today," Iruka replied after a pause. "She's rarely in attendance, truth be told."

Kiba's eyebrows went up, disappearing behind his forehead protector. "What? But she promised Akamaru she'd try to learn. Why—" He stopped and checked himself.

"Kinboshi-sensei checks on her when she can," Iruka said, but his brown eyes were distant and thoughtful. "She has trouble finding Michi, however. She's very good at hiding, and even though the village's orphan fund provides enough for a small apartment, Michi's rarely there."

Kiba didn't doubt that for a moment. "Have there been any...incidents?" he ventured to ask.

Sighing, Iruka shook his head. "No. Michi's never once lost control of herself at school. But I know she doesn't like it here. The age difference between her and her classmates makes it very difficult—they probably assume she's not smart enough to advance. They don't tease her to her face, but that's probably because they're afraid of her."

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," Kiba said with a nod. "I'll talk to her about coming to the academy every day."

"Wait, Kiba," Iruka said, standing up from his desk. "I can't help thinking about Naruto when I see Michi. I know that having a friend really made a difference—once Naruto had attention, he started to grow. Would that help Michi at all?"

"It's not the same," Kiba responded with a sigh. "Michi doesn't want attention or friends. She likes to disappear because she's spent so much of her life under study that to be unseen is a novelty." He paced back and forth a little bit in the doorway. "She gets along best with Akamaru...but as for people, I think Kaori is the only human she's ever allowed to get close to her."

"Kaori?" Iruka repeated.

"Yamato-senpai's close friend. She lives in the village between Konoha and Shitabae—Ansoku Village. Akamaru went completely silly around her, too, come to think of it," Kiba reflected. Then he shook his head. "It probably had something to do with the herbs and things she uses. Sakura told me that Kaori's gifted with fragrances."

"Yamato-sama's...friend," Iruka said slowly, as if the words hadn't made sense to him the first time. "I wonder...well, perhaps you should visit Kaori again and ask her secret," he said to Kiba, turning to erase something off of the blackboard behind him. Kiba debated for a moment whether he should press the sensei for his true thoughts, but decided against it.

"Hnh." Kiba detected movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Shikamaru coming down the hallway towards him.

"Yo," Shikamaru said in greeting, not even bothering to change expression. "Miss the old academy days?"

"No," Kiba said truthfully. "You must, to spend so much time here."

"Eh, they're short on teachers sometimes," Shikamaru said with a half-shrug. "I don't mind." He stuck his head around the doorframe to catch Iruka's eye. "I'm about to walk up to the Mission Room, Iruka-sensei."

"Of course," Iruka said immediately, shuffling the remaining essays together and putting them inside a folder to take with him. "Please tell me if I can help further, Kiba," he said on his way out the door.

Kiba sighed and gazed around the empty classroom, remembering the long mornings and even longer afternoons he'd spent sitting on the benches behind the desks. Akamaru would fall asleep on his head, especially on the sunny warm days when the entire room felt like a sauna.

Speaking of Akamaru...Kiba spotted a familiar white head just over the windowsill as his ninken nosed around outside. Out of deference for Iruka's allergies, he'd opted to let Akamaru stay behind while he spoke to the sensei.

Kiba went over to the window and cracked it open, recalling the many different times he and Naruto, along with Chouji and Shikamaru would cut their school days short and make a break for it. People like Neji and Sasuke had looked on in disapproval, much too straight-laced to even think about playing hooky.

School had made Kiba impatient—he learned best by putting his hands to work and getting dirty. Sitting in a room for long hours wasn't for him. He had learned all the techniques necessary to graduate as fast as he possibly could. And Kurenai-sensei had understood that—she let him learn things in his own way. Plus, Shino and Hinata generally allowed him to take the lead, and it had taught him to obey the pack mindset—everyone with him could be affected by his choices, so he'd better make the right ones.

Kiba dragged his thoughts out of the past and into the present. For old times' sake, he vaulted out of the window and landed on the grass outside, to Akamaru's amused barks.

"Come on boy, we've got to find Michi," Kiba said, some seriousness returning. "And I thought she'd told you she would attend the academy. She's been skipping classes a lot."

At that, Akamaru looked somewhat sheepish. _Puppy promised to learn. Didn't promise where._

Biting down on a sigh of frustration, Kiba peered up at the bright afternoon sun. It filtered down through the trees in the academy's play area, warming the earth and lending a peaceful feeling to the village which went about its business as usual. Where would Michi choose to go?

He knew she liked the smells from restaurants and food carts. But she also liked open areas where she didn't feel enclosed. And for some strange reason, she also liked rooftops and being up high. They were going to have to search every tall tree and warm roof in the village.

As if sensing his thoughts, Akamaru wagged his tail and bounded out of the academy yard, turning up the main road from the southern gate. Kiba could only follow in bemusement, running to keep up as the ninken wove through the small crowds of people just starting to leave work for the day. Akamaru only paused at a butcher's shop before diverting down a wide alley, where he jumped from a stack of crates, to the top of a fence, to the roof of the laundry next door.

Kiba landed beside him without a sound—and then he realized that he could pick up Michi's scent easily. It was pretty strong, in fact, like she'd spent quite a lot of time up on this particular roof. And then his nose wrinkled a little. There were more scents—familiar scents. As in—

_Hey,_ came a soft greeting from behind a vent. Kiba circled around to see Moppu, one of Inuzuka ninken lying in a small sliver of shade. The white, mop-like dog stood out like a sore thumb on the umber roof tiles, but he seemed unconcerned.

_Watching human puppy?_ Akamaru asked conversationally.

_Tsume-shuryo requested it,_ Moppu answered, tongue lolling out of his mouth. _Fang should have asked her._

Kiba grimaced a little. He was sure to hear about that when he got home.

_No trouble,_ Moppu reported lazily, using a hind leg to scratch his chin. _Koshaku comes at sundown. She likes him—he plays with her._

"So she knows you're watching?" Kiba asked a little incredulously.

_Sure,_ Moppu said, stretching back out with a sigh. _Tora's teaching her manners. Ringo's teaching her about people._

"What about important things, like talking, reading, and writing?" Kiba persisted. "She can't learn those things from ninken. She needs to go to the academy!"

Moppu might have rolled his eyes, but they were already closed, so he let his tone of voice speak for him. _What would she learn? More hatred for human puppies that tease her for being too old to learn._

_Fang didn't like academy, _Akamaru pointed out somewhat unhelpfully.

"That's because I already knew most of that stuff!" Kiba exclaimed. "All I needed to do was work on some kunai throwing, taijutsu, and basic chakra control. Michi doesn't-" He stopped just short of saying, _Michi doesn't know anything. _With the volume and tone he was using, he was sure she could hear him.

_Human puppy is not stupid,_ Moppu warned with a short growl. _But she is more ninken than human. She learns best from us._

Kiba had to abandon the conversation at that point; clearly his mother had some hand in what was going on—at the very least she was keeping an eye on Michi's activities. He wasn't sure he wanted to ask her reasons, because it might result in a two-hour history lesson about some great shinobi ninken clan from long ago and how they came up with some strategy that shaped the future of all ninken everywhere. Kiba definitely didn't want that.

The roof climbed to a slight peak, and then gently declined again. As he reached the top of the incline, Kiba could look down and see Michi sitting alone, her attention on something in the street below. To his surprise, a short stack of books was beside her, and he could see loose pages sticking out of one in particular.

She heard him coming and turned and for a moment her face reminded him of Sai—a brief expression of fleeting uncertainty as if trying to decide how to respond.

"Hi, Michi," Kiba said in greeting, as if he hadn't noticed her hesitation. He paused for a moment to see if she was going to bristle at him, but to his partial surprise, she adjusted her posture to face him.

"Hello Kiba," she replied clearly. And then, as if she had spent a lot of time practicing, she asked somewhat shyly, "H-how was...your mission?"

Kiba felt a little bit of tension leave his shoulders and he closed the distance between them, settling on the other side of her books. The sun-warmed tiles felt welcoming as a cooler evening breeze ruffled his hair. "It was an easy C-rank," he told her, surveying the distant rooftops and balconies around them. "Just escorting a businessman and his son to a distant village. Akamaru was bored." _Not to mention that the kid was allergic to him._

As if he'd heard his name, Akamaru skittered down the roof tiles and all but slid to a halt against Kiba's back with a _woof _of greeting. At that, Michi's face relaxed into a genuine smile. She started to say something to the ninken, but then apparently thought better of it.

"Tora says it...it is im-mpolite to talk to ninken and n-not huma—people," Michi said slowly, trying each word out as she spoke. It was halting, and it almost sounded as if she were tasting the words. Kiba grinned to show her that he wasn't deterred.

"Ah, I'm used to it," he said with a shrug that nudged Akamaru playfully. "Who's been teaching you to talk?"

At that, Michi blushed and looked down into the thickening crowds in the street below. "Listen—**_I_**...I listen to the village people. Ringo knows m-much—many—a lot," she finally settled on, "a lot about them."

Kiba snorted. "Ringo loves attention. He gets along with everybody very well, but he's a terrible guard."

The girl beside him appeared to process that, and then she giggled. The sound apparently surprised her, for she gasped and stopped immediately. Kiba's grin widened. Well, he couldn't say now that Michi had been playing hooky from school. He'd just managed to speak with her for more than two words and not one of them had directed at Akamaru, who was now lying on the cooling tiles of the roof as the sun began to set.

"Moppu," Michi called, picking up the book that had a few pages sticking out from between the covers. She pulled three of them free and Kiba caught a quick look at them before she folded them as best she could and sandwiched them between the covers of a small plastic folder. One page had ten simple sentences written out. Another had a drawing of something mostly black with a caption. The last page was a form of some kind, where Michi had labored to print her name at the top. There were three sections, but Kiba couldn't discern from his one glance what they were. That would be a question for his mom.

Moppu came trotting obediently down the roof's decline to Michi's side. She gave the folder to him with a quiet _thanks_ and he took it and leaped easily away across the rooftops. Kiba watched him go and then suddenly found himself blurting, "Was that your homework?" Immediately, he chastised himself for his tone when Michi started.

"Y-yes," she replied after a moment to calm down. "T-Tora and Ringo t-tell me what to do today—n-no..._every_. Every day." Michi pointed to the books she had, and Kiba picked the first two up and glanced at them. They were simple primers for teaching reading, and the tooth indentations along the spines told him how Michi had gotten ahold of them.

On impulse, he flipped open the cover of the top book. Sure enough, Hana's name was scrawled in childish script in the corner. Kiba's curiosity increased, but it was apparent to him now that he couldn't avoid speaking to his mom about what in the world she was doing. He set the book down and gazed down at the candy shop across the street, watching a toddler beg her parents for just one treat before walking home.

* * *

**Appendix A**

_And Now A Deviation from the Intended Plot_

_Theoretical Placement: Between Parts Nine and Ten_

_Yamato's Apartment_

_**(Below is what I would write if I could maim the characters all I wanted.)**_

The first night, Michi roamed her room endlessly. Yamato listened to her soft footfalls for over an hour before deciding that he was going to sleep anyways. When he awoke the next morning, it was to discover an exhausted, bleary-eyed girl curled into a tight ball, looking at the wooden walls of the room as if they were going to close in on her.

He realized that Tsunade was very worried that her unstable chakra control was going to cause problems in the village unless she was closely watched by someone who could suppress chakra. Yamato definitely fit that description, even though it meant he was essentially babysitting, which had _not_ been part of ANBU training. He supposed that he could terrorize Michi the same way he kept Naruto in line, but he didn't think it would work. She had enough fears, apparently, and he was torturing her enough as it was by keeping her indoors.

"She has to get used to it," Tsunade said in the tone of voice that brooked no opposition. "Michi deserves a life as a shinobi, if she wants it. Orochimaru has taken so much away from so many people. If we can give something back…" She hadn't had to finish the sentence—Yamato already agreed with her.

"She'll live on her own when she's ready, but at first…" Tsunade shook her head. Yamato's report hadn't left anything out about the enclosure Michi had been kept in for who knew how much of her life. To have been raised as a wild dog as opposed to her human form; he privately despised Orochimaru already, but for Michi he had been hard-pressed to keep his anger to himself.

He wished suddenly that he had Kaori here to confide in. Michi had taken to the woman so naturally it made Yamato a little leery of Kaori's talent. She wasn't one to give away trade secrets to just anybody, however. He'd gone to her that evening after she'd put Michi to bed and the other shinobi were also turning in for the night and asked her.

"Kaori," he said quietly as the woman began to tidy the dining area. She looked up at him with her ever-patient eyes, pausing in her task. He was always keenly aware how kind she looked and not for the first time, something inside him constricted. Although he had given Naruto the evil eye for starting to tease him about Kaori, the genin hadn't been entirely wrong. The sight of her made the old feelings return...from the moment he'd first met her all those years ago.

Yamato pushed those thoughts away, guided them back to the quiet place in the back of his mind reserved for who he might be once he was retired from ANBU. It was hard—the way her plait of hair fell over one shoulder, and her eyes crinkled at the edges when she smiled lingered in his mind's eye.

"How did you get Michi to take to you?" he asked, relentlessly wrestling his thoughts under control. "She's more ninken than person, and dangerous if provoked."

Kaori looked down at the dishes in her hands before setting them down on a tray and continuing to clear the low table. "In all seriousness, Yamato, it's the perfume I wear when I go out to collect herbs and other plants I don't keep in the garden." She brushed a wisp of hair out of her eyes and picked up the laden tray. "It has a special ingredient that calms animals—most animals, I should say. There were some problems a few months back, so I always take precautions when going out into the forests."

A slow feeling of horror crept over Yamato. "It wasn't—"

"No," Kaori cut him off. "It wasn't ninken. At least, not from what I understand. A roving pack of wolves, I believe. I myself have never been bothered by them." She moved away into the adjoining kitchen and began running water.

Thoughtlessly, Yamato collected the remains of the tea set still on the table and brought them into the kitchen for her. "That explains why Akamaru apparently worships the ground you walk on."

Kaori laughed quietly so the sound wouldn't carry. "He was so confused at first...I feel as if I should apologize to him." She started soaking dishes before emptying the used tea leaves into the trash bin beside the sink. "He cares very much for that little _papi_; his boy does, too. Kiba."

"It's eye-opening to find someone just like you who had all the same potential, and then to have had it ripped away...it hurts to see it. And it makes those of us that came out all right want to…" Yamato's words faded as Kaori's shoulders dropped slightly.

"Is that why you still stop by every time you go in or out of Konoha?" Kaori asked, starting to wash the dishes. Her tone implied indifference, but Yamato knew it was anything but. "To see if something that was broken is still in pieces?" She reached for one of the teacups, and then held it up. "You might put the pieces back together, but a cracked vessel will never again hold water."

He couldn't detect any bitterness in her words, and Kaori straightened her posture. "What happened in my village was a massacre. I escaped with my life and little else—but it is enough. You can't make it better, Yamato-san." She looked sideways at him and smiled, but it was a weary expression and one he was sure only he ever saw.

"Michi will always be broken. The most you can do is help pick up the pieces," Kaori told him. "What she decides to do with her life in its new state is up to her. It could be more enriching and meaningful than she ever imagined, if the right people help her. And your village is no end of helpful." A small spark of levity returned to her tone, but it didn't fool Yamato.

"Kaori…"

"Stop, Yamato." And now her voice was firm. "We are what we are. You are a powerful, valuable asset to Konoha. You are needed for your _kekkei genkai_, as well as ANBU skills." She finished the dishes and drained the water from the sink, pausing to dry her hands on a homespun towel.

Almost without realizing he was doing it, Yamato took her hand in his. She let him; it was customary at this point. Kaori pulled up the sleeve of her kimono, exposing the dark ring of fuuinjutsu script encircling her forearm just below the elbow. There was no change in the seal—no color shift or irritation. Her other arm was the same, and Yamato always made the same face when he inspected the forbidden technique's mark; he frowned.

"Come, Yamato-san," Kaori said lightly, to dispel the gloomy atmosphere. She pulled her hands out of his grasp and shook her sleeves down. "You have a long road tomorrow, and all those shinobi won't think too highly of a captain that doesn't get enough sleep." Kaori extinguished the lanterns and led the way upstairs, where they parted ways.

**FIN**

* * *

**Language Translations**

Inuhara Michi

Michi - path, 道

Inuhara - dog + -hara suffix (plain, wilderness)

Art of Far Leap - Tōku hiyaku-jutsu

Art of Holding Fang - Mochikabu kiba-jutsu

Art of the Tail Whip - O muchi no geijutsu

Art of the Beast Transformation - Kemono henkan no āto

Hakidasu - Release! (掃き出す)

Kenso - Loud (喧噪)

Anbureikaburushīru - Unbreakable Seal (アンブレイカブルシール)


End file.
